Caffeinated crusade: Bay Area coffee roasters Big House Beans gives former inmates new lease on life
At Big House Beans coffee shop in the heart of Oakland, owner John Krause is brewing more than just a cup of joe.
For the last decade, Krause has been on a caffeinated crusade to blend passion with purpose.
"When I got out of prison in 2010, and I applied to jobs everywhere, nobody would hire me. And it really opened my eyes to the stigma that society has against people with barriers to employment," he said.
With the help of family and friends, he opened his own coffee shop with a stated mission to give a second shot to ex-cons and recovering addicts.
But soon he realized that was a tall order. Many of his employees would relapse, leaving him with no one to tend to the customers.
"We had a high turnover rate. We just couldn't keep hiring, and training. it was too costly to do that," he said.
That's when an idea began to percolate. He partnered with City Team, a faith-based nonprofit organization that helps people get back on their feet.
"They have meals, they have a bed and they're staying busy over there," he said.
More importantly, they have wraparound services that keep them grounded.
Francisco Garcia, a recovering addict and one of Krause's latest hires, said his biggest challenge had been staying sober.
"There's a big temptation to go back out and drink. And then you're thinking it's easy to take one drink. But one drink leads to another, and it just starts spiraling from there," Garcia said.
What has kept him on the right track is the responsibility that came with a job coupled with one-on-one mentoring at City Team.
City Team executive director Steven Martinez said a job and bed are essential to recovery, but it's the comprehensive services provided by the nonprofit that make it sustainable.
"All of our men and women have case managers," Martinez said. "There's a lot of accountability here that helps people feel like they're not alone."
For Krause, this new approach has meant being able to confidently hire more people like Garcia, while also growing his business. His company is now bringing in about $2 million gross annual income between three locations.
"It pays the bills," he said.
